Issues/Problems the PLA needs to address
- Thread starter airsuperiority
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Equation
Lieutenant General
Most of that report are full speculations culminating with a single source as evidence. In another words what Army and military forces in any country doesn't have corruption or logistics or whatever problems they're facing.
The Chinese military has improved a lot on its weaknesses. They have improved training and their weapons are getting better. Now they are starting to do red on blue war games. Both the air force and the army are engaged in it. I don't know about the navy. Logistical gaps are slowly filled with new transport helicopters, transport plane and support ship programs and purchases. And with the cutting of 300000 troops that process will only excellerate. As more money and resources are made available for training and weapons procurement.
The only open question are the quality of the generals. China hasn't fought a war for more than 35 years and China has never fought a war under hi-tech conditions. The Chinese are forging a formidable weapon but the question is how well are they able to wield that weapon.
The only open question are the quality of the generals. China hasn't fought a war for more than 35 years and China has never fought a war under hi-tech conditions. The Chinese are forging a formidable weapon but the question is how well are they able to wield that weapon.
SamuraiBlue
Captain
The question I have is how will the officers that bought their ranks going to function?
I am sure there had been many officers that were more promising but were turned down to maintain a certain number of officers at each rank due to budgetary constrains.
I am sure there had been many officers that were more promising but were turned down to maintain a certain number of officers at each rank due to budgetary constrains.
Guys, I changed the name of this thread to "Issues/Problems the PLA needs to Address."
Even then, it seems to me the entire purpose of this thread is to point out problems and negative things about the PLA.
While that is helpful If it is objective...it is far too easy for it to become subjective and turn into a PLA bash.
Be aware...that will not be allowed. If there is even a hint that the thread is drifting there...it will be closed.
DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS MODERATION
Even then, it seems to me the entire purpose of this thread is to point out problems and negative things about the PLA.
While that is helpful If it is objective...it is far too easy for it to become subjective and turn into a PLA bash.
Be aware...that will not be allowed. If there is even a hint that the thread is drifting there...it will be closed.
DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS MODERATION
Blackstone
Brigadier
And how many high-quality officers were passed up for promotions because they want more professional armed forces (national army instead of Communist Party army) and less political indoctrination.
At times, I wounder how many gain rank as Political Commissars, not because they are high-quality professional solders, but because they could shout "long live the CCP" louder than anyone else.
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I think it's important to be careful not to assume that an army has to follow a Western model to be effective. And besides, national armies have their own set of problems, such as struggling to be politically neutral. Soldiers and officers can't help having a political bias, and preventing that bias from affecting your actions in your position is very difficult. That's not meant as a smear on them as people. They're just human is all. Making the PLA into a party army is the CCP's way of dealing with this issue.
kwaigonegin
Colonel
The problem I see with the PLA forces is lack of experience and real world warfighting abilities. The only way to be good is to fight real battles or team up with someone who has done it a few times.
With that being said it's truly a double edge sword. No one wants to fight a real war unless absolutely necessary however strictly from a combat effectiveness standpoint it would also diminished capabilities as well if one is never expose to real modern combat. Most of the innovations, add on or bolt on kits you see all stemmed from input from the units fighting real wars.
Engineers and scientists no matter how smart or capable can only innovate so much... Further improvements has to come directly from input in the field where real missiles and bullets fly.
The same goes with doctrine, training and strategies. Only those who have been in real combat can further improve on existing methodologies and knowledge base.
PLA has made tremendous strides in the past 20 yrs but they still have a long ways to go IMHO. They have to be battle tested in the foreseeable future. Mideast and Africa are always hot spots. They can hone their combat capabilities there. However when you fight a war it's not all just tactical.. You stressed your supply chain, logistics, your CnC and most importantly for the PLA you can fully test your interoperability and joint operations between air, sea and land.
I question the true effectiveness of PLA, PLAAF, PLAN joint operations because I have not seen them truly in action yet.
That is actually one of the hardest things to do right in any military to come together as one cohesive fighting force.
With that being said it's truly a double edge sword. No one wants to fight a real war unless absolutely necessary however strictly from a combat effectiveness standpoint it would also diminished capabilities as well if one is never expose to real modern combat. Most of the innovations, add on or bolt on kits you see all stemmed from input from the units fighting real wars.
Engineers and scientists no matter how smart or capable can only innovate so much... Further improvements has to come directly from input in the field where real missiles and bullets fly.
The same goes with doctrine, training and strategies. Only those who have been in real combat can further improve on existing methodologies and knowledge base.
PLA has made tremendous strides in the past 20 yrs but they still have a long ways to go IMHO. They have to be battle tested in the foreseeable future. Mideast and Africa are always hot spots. They can hone their combat capabilities there. However when you fight a war it's not all just tactical.. You stressed your supply chain, logistics, your CnC and most importantly for the PLA you can fully test your interoperability and joint operations between air, sea and land.
I question the true effectiveness of PLA, PLAAF, PLAN joint operations because I have not seen them truly in action yet.
That is actually one of the hardest things to do right in any military to come together as one cohesive fighting force.
solarz
Brigadier
There's a Chinese proverb:
国虽大，好战必亡；天下虽安，忘战必危.
"No matter how power a nation is, if it loves to wage war, it will surely perish. No matter how peaceful the world seems, a nation that neglects its military will surely be in great peril."
I'm pretty certain that if a real war breaks out, the PLA is going to learn some hard lessons, but that's okay. What matters is that the PLA retains its operational discipline, to be able to absorb the losses from those lessons, to learn from mistakes, and to improve itself.